social media

Infopackets Reader Tyler M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just came across your article on Facebook Dating sextortion article - thanks for that. I have a somewhat different issue, though similar. While on vacation in Thailand, I met a beautiful local ... woman at a bar in Bangkok. She offered to be my personal guide (plus benefits!) and promised to show me around for the duration of my visit. I was skeptical at first, but knew that this type of ' transactional relationship ' was common in Thailand. After a few drinks I gave in - we exchanged numbers and added each other on Instagram. Everything seemed ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sarah B. writes: " Dear Dennis, Please help - I'm being harassed on Instagram . A few months ago, I met a guy on Instagram claiming to be stationed overseas in the US Military. He moves from base to base, which makes it difficult ... for him to stay in touch with people. Initially, he was sweet, charming, and always had a good excuse for why we couldn't video chat - so we exchange some photos instead. At first, he just wanted someone to talk to, but not long after, he hinted that he was struggling financially. He needed money for things like Internet access, food, and other ' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam J. writes: "Dear Dennis, My teenage son got caught up in an online sextortion scam. He thought he was talking to a girl his age on Instagram, but it turned out to be a scammer who tricked him into sharing private photos. He ... already sent the blackmailers $500 in Steam cards. Now, they're threatening to send those images to his friends and family unless we pay more. He's terrified, ashamed, and deeply depressed. As a father, I feel completely helpless. How can I stop cyber harassment and online blackmail in order to protect my son? Please help!" My response: If you or ... (view more)

A new app offers to bring together multiple social media, messaging and content tools into a single "timeline". Tapestry is made by the people behind a previous app that aimed to improve the experience of what was then called Twitter. That app, ... Twitterific, stopped working in 2023 when Twitter blocked third-party access to its service. That ongoing block means the new app doesn't support the rebranded X service. Instead, Tapestry brings together multiple apps into a single chronological timeline showing all posts that meet the user's criteria. The developers believe many users prefer that to ... (view more)

Florida law now says under-14s can't use social media while 14 and 15-year-olds need parental permission. The controversial law takes effect from the start of 2025 but may still be challenged in the Supreme Court. The new state law says social media ... platforms must delete any existing account held by somebody aged under 14 as well as prevent under 14s from opening a new one. Supporters of the law said children of this age weren't mature enough to understand the "addictive technologies" of such sites and make an informed choice whether to use them. Hefty Penalties For those aged 14 or 15, ... (view more)

Researchers say they were unable to find a clear link between Internet use and harm to mental health. However, the results looked at national populations as a whole, rather than individual behavior. The researchers, from Oxford University's Oxford ... Internet Institute, said they were limited by a lack of data and cooperation from major tech companies. The broad research paper, "Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age", looked at studies of psychological wellbeing of around 2.4 million people across 18 countries. The researchers looked at changes in reported wellbeing between ... (view more)

The Supreme Court has asked the government for advice over two cases involving social media. The court is reviewing challenges to laws that could effectively ban moderation on sites. The state laws in Florida and Texas both limit the ability of ... social media companies to moderate some content, though they would work in different ways. The Florida law covers online platforms with more than 100 million users. It says companies must publish their moderation rules and apply them consistently to all users. It also says companies cannot ban any user who is an active political candidate for a future ... (view more)

The Supreme Court has blocked a Texas law that would have stopped social media companies from banning users based on political views. A 5-4 majority of judges said the law violated the First Amendment. In this case, the right to free speech in ... question is not that of individual users, but that of the social media companies. They had argued that they have the right to decide what content does and doesn't appear on their platforms. The verdict doesn't throw the law out. Instead, it means it cannot take effect until ongoing lawsuits about its measures have been resolved. Because it was an ... (view more)

For the first time, more than five billion people use the Internet. That means the proportion of the world who are online will soon reach two-thirds. The figures come from Data Reportal, which gathers together information from multiple sources to ... produce a global estimate. (Source: datareportal.com ) Its headline figures include five billion people using the Internet, meaning 63 percent of the world's population. It also says 5.32 billion people have a mobile phone (67 percent of the population), with around 80 percent of those handsets being smartphones. (Source: bdaily.co.uk ) The report ... (view more)

Stop Online Blackmail ASAP Are you a victim of online blackmail? Need help now? Use our contact form for an immediate call back! Ask anything - 15 mins FREE . We are Better Business Bureau accredited ( A+ rating ), celebrating 21 years of ... excellence. Fastest Service, Best Rate - Guaranteed ASAP protection; cases resolved 1-3 days; Police recommended We show what blackmailers do, how scam plays out, how to avoid being exposed The ONLY service that can prevent your exposure through social media BBB A+, Police Recommended Click to view our Better Business Bureau A+ rating ; 21 years online Click ... (view more)